Orphan Rock

Orphan Rock is a complex and richly detailed story of secrets and heartbreak that will take you from the back streets of Sydney's slums to the wide avenues of the City of Lights.

The late 1800s was a time when women were meant to know their place. But when Bessie starts to work for Louisa Lawson at The Dawn, she comes to realise there's more to a woman's place than servitude to a husband.

Years later her daughter Kathleen flees to Paris to escape a secret she cannot accept. But World War One intervenes, exposing her to both the best and the worst of humanity.

Masterful and epic, this book is both a splendid evocation of early Sydney, and a truly powerful story about how women and minorities fought against being silenced.

'Her writing is finely crafted, her prose poetic and subtle, and a joy to read.' - Monique Mulligan

Five-year-old Bessie is removed from an extended stay at the Protestant Orphan School and returned home to her unstable mother: a woman she doesn't remember and who is anything but loving towards her. The trajectory of Bessie's life, with all its struggles, loves, losses, deaths, marriages and disappointments, plays out in Orphan Rock. Against the backdrop of Sydney in the late 1800s and into the 1900s, Bessie is pitted against war, extreme poverty and outbreaks of smallpox and the Spanish flu, among other events. This well-paced, multigenerational novel progresses through to the life of Bessie's daughter Kathleen, with a particularly vivid sojourn in Paris at the outbreak of World War I. The scope of the novel is vast and occasionally skims surfaces because of this, but Dominique Wilson is a skilful storyteller. Her characters are compelling and her meticulous research and attention to detail bring the past alive. The inclusion of well-chosen cameos from real historical figures-such as Tilly Devine, for instance-adds a colourful authenticity. Orphan Rock also touches upon the Australian identity throughout history, while exploring our endemic racism and sexism, and highlighting the roles of women. It will appeal to lovers of historical fiction and will sit comfortably on the shelf next to the likes of Meg Keneally and Geraldine Brooks. Deborah Crabtree is a Melbourne-based writer and bookseller. Read her interview with Dominique Wilson about Orphan Rock here.

Dominique Wilson was born of French parents in Algiers, Algeria. She grew up in a country torn by civil war, until she and her family fled to Australia. She was founding Managing Editor of Wet Ink: the magazine of new writing, and Chair of the Adelaide branch of International PEN. Dominique's short stories have been published nationally and read on ABC Radio, and one of her short stories was made into a film. Her debut novel The Yellow Papers [Transit Lounge, 2014] and her second novel That Devil's Madness [Transit Lounge, 2016] were both published to critical acclaim.

Orphan Rock is a complex and richly detailed story of secrets and heartbreak that will take you from the back streets of Sydney's slums to the wide avenues of the City of Lights. The late 1800s was a time when women were meant to know their place. But when Bessie starts to work for Louisa Lawson at The Dawn , she comes to realise there's more to a woman's place than servitude to a husband. Years later her daughter Kathleen flees to Paris to escape a secret she cannot accept. But World War One intervenes, exposing her to both the best and the worst of humanity. Masterful and epic, this book is both a splendid evocation of early Sydney, and a truly powerful story about how women and minorities fought against being silenced. 'Her writing is finely crafted, her prose poetic and subtle, and a joy to read.' -- Monique Mulligan

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